


Write Now

by thegizka



Category: Naruto
Genre: Banter, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, sand siblings - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25081711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegizka/pseuds/thegizka
Summary: On a rare day off, Shikamaru looks forward to spending some time with his wife, but her attention is elsewhere.Originally written for ShikaTema Week 2020 Day 1:  Letters.Note:  I do not own any aspect of Naruto.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Comments: 3
Kudos: 77





	Write Now

“Make sure you’re back for dinner or you’ll have to face your mother.”

“I know!” Shikadai called, already sprinting across the yard. His father watched him with amusement, recalling his own moments of youthful energy, though rarely did something entice him to run across the village with such enthusiasm. Expelling such energy was unnecessary, but he couldn’t begrudge his son his excitement.

Shikamaru made his way through the house to the back porch where his wife was enjoying the mild summer morning. With a satisfied sigh, he laid down next to her. He had a rare day off, and cloud-watching seemed like the perfect way to start it.

“Where’d Shikadai go?” Temari asked, not looking up from the paper she was steadily filling with her precise, slanted handwriting.

“Apparently there’s some new game out and Boruto got a copy. A bunch of their friends are going to hang out and watch him play.”

“Did you tell him to be home for dinner?”

“I reminded him, don’t worry.”

She grunted, her full focus returning to her writing. Shikamaru stretched, enjoying the warmth of the morning and the peace of not having to do anything. Naturally his thoughts attempted to wander back to the hunches and suspicions that usually occupied his mind, but he’d trained himself to ignore responsibility from a young age. He didn’t let himself indulge in it much nowadays, but it came in handy now. Here he was forcing himself to do nothing and thoroughly enjoying it. The possibilities for wasting time were endless. He would be perfectly happy spending the whole day contemplating what he wanted to do. He suspected, though, that Temari had a few ideas of her own.

He turned his head so he could look at his wife. She was more interesting to look at than clouds anyway. Despite having the day off, she’d done her hair in its usual pigtails. He wondered if that was a clue that she’d want to go out later. For now, though, she remained studiously intent on what she was doing.

He reached toward her and poked her thigh. She hummed but didn’t pause. That just solidified his desire to steal her attention. He reached out again and pinched her. That earned him a sideways glance.

“Need something?”

He shrugged, trying not to grin too cheekily. Temari rolled her eyes and returned to her paper. He wiggled closer to her so he could reach behind her and tap her opposite shoulder.

“Shikamaru,” she warned, causing him to chuckle. He was getting through to her. Time for his final play.

He reached around her back again and attacked her side with his fingers. She shrieked as he tickled, leaping up and scattering the papers in her lap. He laughed at her shocked expression, tucking his hands behind his head triumphantly.

“You are such a child,” she scolded, though there was mirth in her eyes. “You almost made me mess up.”

“What are you writing?” he asked, watching her gather the papers and stack them in order.

“A letter.” She sat back down, pen poised to continue.

“Is that all one letter?” He sat up in surprise. “Temari, that’s nearly a novel! Who are you writing to?”

“My brothers.”

“You’ve written five whole pages to your brothers?” He scooted closer to peer over her shoulder. “They’ll just burn it after they read it, you know.”

“I know.” It was a habit inherited from their father who had believed the secrets and safety of the Kazekage benefited from the destruction of all correspondence. Temari still burned her letters, though Shikamaru knew she had a secret stash of particularly sentimental ones tucked away somewhere in the house.

“Why bother writing all of this? You could just hop on a train and pay them a visit.”

“I like writing letters. They’re less intrusive.”

“They’re a lot of work, though.”

“To you,” she chuckled. “I remember the first time you wrote to me personally. It was barely a paragraph, and it was very down to business.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, feigning offense. “I asked how you were, commented on the weather, and invited you to come visit. There’s barely any business to that.”

“There wasn’t much of anything to that,” she teased. “You’re lucky I found you somewhat charming already, because you could really use some work on wooing a woman.”

“Oh really?” He smirked as he snaked his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I still got you to marry me.”

“Despite your shortcomings.”

Shikamaru sighed dramatically.

“Why did I take a day off just to have my wife insult me while writing the longest letter ever to her brothers?”

“Sh,” she scolded, playfully poking his nose with the end of her pen. “I have a few ideas on how to spend your free time, but you need to let me finish this first.”

“Fine.”

“It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.”

Shikamaru leaned back to give her space to work, his fingers gently scratching her back. He could think of a few things he wanted to do right now, but he would wait to hear what she had in mind.

Lazily he traced patterns on her back. The Nara Clan crest. The symbol of Suna. The symbol of Konoha. Fire. Wind. Troublesome. Temari.

I love you.

“I love you, too,” she said, eyes sparkling at him over her shoulder for a moment before she returned to her letter. He chuckled and kissed the back of her neck.

“See? You don’t need to write pages and pages to say what you need to.”

“Don’t ruin the moment.”

“Yes dear.” Shikamaru leaned back with a grin, turning his gaze back to the clouds while he waited until she was ready to say more.


End file.
